lindsey and james, thank you very much. we'll talk about the fiscal cliff ad knaus see yum. that's what we do when you're talking about the economy. appreciate you both being here. it is the fiscal cliff gridlock which is helping to suck the holiday cheer out of many shoppers. a new report says u.s. holiday sales climbed just .7 of a percent over last year. that is their slowest rate of growth since 2008 when the recession was in full force but are people just temporarily stuffing their money in the mattress due to the fisl cliff? or is this the start of a long-term spending halt by consumers? joining us to discuss all of this is retail analyst. we appreciate you being here. we were reporting about this today on the fox business network. one i think it was mastercard spending pulse saying it actually not the fiscal cliff, it was superstorm sandy. >> right. adam: at the end. day are consumers pulling back? doesn't matter if it was the storm or fear they're pulling back, right. >> that was a real good point you made. mastercard said this these numbers were becoming a concern f